The Telling of the Stars
by LilyoftheValley4
Summary: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ BOOK 5! What happens when a certain potions master gets the position he always wanted? And why is Hermione acting so oddly? The sky holds the truth to the past, present, and future.
1. The Mirror

**Title**: The Telling of the Stars

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters/plot/etc… made up by J.K. Rowling.

**A/N**: Hi everyone. This is a story I decided to write after the sadness that overcame me when reading book five. I just couldn't believe that out of all the characters that J.K. Rowling could of killed off, it had to be Sirius. It's not fair! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story and I hope you'll check out my other works. 

.

c**HARRY POTTER and the Telling of the Stars**/c

Harry Potter sat on his bed in house number four of Privet Drive staring at the glittering object that had caught the evening's moonbeam shining threw his window. It was late, he knew, but he didn't know how late. His uncle's snores had been filtering through his closed door for hours, but that wasn't why he was still awake. He had had restless nights ever since he had come back from Hogwarts.

            The words of Luna Lovegood, though they had been reassuring, did nothing to fill the emptiness that was in his heart since Sirius's death. Harry reached out to touch one of the broken shards of glass that lay on top of the folds of the covers on Harry's bed. Harry sighed wishing that in his moment of anger he had not broken the mirror Sirius had given him. Even though the reality of Sirius's death was more emphasized when Harry had tried to use it, shattering the mirror had been like shattering his heart. It was the last thing Sirius had given to him, and he wanted to cherish it forever.

            He took the broken piece he had picked up, and laid it back down, wishing he wasn't at his aunt's and uncle's. Because of the restriction on underage wizardry he was unable to repair the mirror he had so savagely broken. He'd have to wait till his return to Hogwarts so he could magically repair the mirror. 

            Harry reached over and placed the pieces of the mirror into a handkerchief and headed downstairs. Ever since the threat the Order had made to the Dursely's about Harry's treatment the locks had been removed from Harry's door. In fact, the Dudley's had hardly said a word to him as the followed the old saying, "If you can't say something nice, then don't say it at all." None of them wanted to upset Harry for fear of what the "freaks" as the Dursely's would say, would do to them. 

            Harry pulled a cup down from the cabinet and filled it with water. He took a sip of it, and then headed outside to the front porch. He wasn't the least bit tired, and lately, his dreams of been filled with nothing but memories of the night Sirius died. It was not something that Harry was looking forward to reliving every night. 

            Harry lay down on the front porch and looked up at the sky. It wasn't a particularly clear night, but the stars would be seen glowing above him as the winds pushed the clouds across the sky. This time last year, Harry was starting to go crazy. This is when all news from the wizarding world was silent and the fate of his godfather had been unknown. Now Harry couldn't care less. Days were still slipping by with agonizing slowness, but that was because he was up for the majority of the day and night doing nothing while the Dursely's pretended he didn't exist. Needless to say, his life wasn't going the way he had wanted.

            He had hoped that Voldemort would have been stopped by now, that the Ministry would have believed that Sirius Black had not murdered thirteen people, that the dementors had not left Azkaban, and that Harry would be living happily with his godfather. Instead Voldemort was only to grow stronger, Sirius Black was dead, dementors had left Azkaban unprotected and filled with the newly admitted Death Eaters, and Sirius Black was dead. It wasn't fair.

            Harry squinted up at the stars from his position on the Dursely porch. He could of sworn that he'd seen the order of several stars switch. He looked at them closely, but it didn't happen again. Feeling an odd sense of insecurity, Harry looked around, but it seemed as if the whole neighborhood was asleep. Harry took one glance back up at the stars, which were now securely covered by clouds, and headed into the house. 


	2. Lightning Dursley

A/N: I had some ideas for the second chapter and just kept on rolling! I hope you enjoy it! Please read and review! Oh and please pardon any misspellings of character or object names. I'm trying to use the books as spelling references, but it can be hard to find words at times. Plus, now that I've finished the fifth book, my mother's reading it, so I won't get my hands back on it for a while.

Chapter 2

            Harry was first up but the last to come down stairs. He felt it best to give the Dursley's a chance talk together as a family, because every time Harry filtered down the stairs, all conversation would stop. He knew they weren't talking about him, and even if they were, he didn't care, but none of the Dursley's felt comfortable anymore. They knew Harry couldn't do magic without being expelled, but they didn't know the extent of what adult wizards could do. 

            Harry came downstairs dressed and sat in the chair closest to the door. Harry watched the family tense. Aunt Petunia who had been reaching to pour a cup of coffee spilled some on the counter and on her hand. Uncle Vernon ruffled his newspaper unnecessarily to filter the silence of Harry's entrance, and Harry's cousin Dudley froze with his fork in midair while the egg that had been on it fell onto the plate. The fork however continued on its path to Dudley's mouth, who looked at Harry suspiciously when he found that there was nothing on the fork. 

            Aunt Petunia went over to the stove and threw a large amount of eggs, sausage, and toast onto a plate and set it in front of Harry. Ever since the Order's threat about treating Harry fairly, Harry had been receiving large amounts of any and all food, but it was amazingly always less than the amount Dudley received. Harry stared at his food not really hungry, but decided to have some toast so he could skip lunch if necessary. He walked out of the kitchen when he was finished. He heard his aunt whispering something about how Harry better not go and complain about not getting fed after she'd prepared all this food, but Harry doubted it was going to waste. Dudley was sure to finish up whatever Harry hadn't eaten.

            Harry went upstairs and put on his shoes like he did every morning and headed back down to the front door. His uncle however, caught him on the way.

            "Where are you going, boy?" he grunted as he came out of the kitchen.

            "Out," Harry said. His uncle didn't need to know where he was going. He knew his uncle didn't care where he was going, and Harry didn't really want to tell him. 

            Uncle Vernon scowled. "We won't be here this afternoon. We're going—er, _out_," Vernon said mimicking Harry. 

            "Fine," Harry said as he opened the door and stepped outside. He immediately headed down the sidewalk and to the park. When he got there, he looked around. He wasn't surprised to find it deserted. Thanks to Dudley, the playground was in worse condition than it had been last summer. There were no longer any swings left to swing on, the slide was dented in from having rocks thrown at it, and the see-saw was broken in half from Dudley's and his friends' attempt to sit on it. 

            Harry liked to visit this place because it gave him a chance to be alone and outside. He didn't have to be confined to the Dursley's house any longer, now that they were afraid something would happen to them if Harry didn't get his way. Selfish it may seem to some, but it was an allowance that Harry had never had before. He was never free to do anything unconditionally. It was especially nice after all those years when Dudley had gotten his way more times than Harry could count. 

            Harry went over and laid on one side of the broken see-saw. The day wasn't particularly nice, but a typical shade of gray for a London day. He watched neighbors pass and stare at him briefly before they continued on their way. He looked around. He wondered if members of the Order were still following him. Most likely they were around somewhere, but Harry didn't know where. 

            Harry breathed in deeply. He had been with the Dursley's for a month, and he still had a month to go. The thought of it was depressing. With nothing to do while he was with the Dursley's, Harry's mind had no choice but to watch Sirius's death over and over in his head. If he were at Hogwarts, he would be doing something, anything, to keep his mind from wander back to that night. He could do homework (though it was unlikely), or practicing Quidditch, or be playing wizard chess with Ron, or talking with Cho Chang…

            Harry scowled. He hadn't meant to think of Cho. He hadn't thought of her since Ginny and Hermione told him that she was seeing Michael Corner. When he had first found out, he hadn't cared much, and now, the idea that she didn't really like him just added to his feeling of depressing numbness. 

            He briefly glanced at his watch and caught sight of the date. His birthday was less than a month away. His friends had sent him a few letters over the summer, but it was mostly filled with light conversation, questions just to make sure that Harry hadn't done anything rash over the summer. Harry knew his friends were worried about him, but there was nothing they could do to make Harry feel better. 

            Harry sat on the seesaw for a little while longer and then started walking back to the Dursley's. By then, the sky that had been threatening all day finally opened up and started to pour. Harry just continued to walk moodily to his aunt's and uncle's. When he reached home, he reached down into the nearest flowerpot, and pulled out a hidden key. The Dursley's had decided to keep an extra key outside when Dudley had forgotten his while Aunt Petunia was at the store and Uncle Vernon was at work. 

            Harry used then key and then placed it back in the pot as he stepped into the living room, plopping down on the couch. He paid no attention to the fact that he was dripping wet and had just sat down on his aunt's furniture. He was thinking how nice a crackling orange fire would be when with a pop a face suddenly appeared in the fire. 

            "Hey Harry! How's your summer?" Harry looked down at Lupin's slightly pale, but grinning face. He looked pretty much the same as he did when Harry had said good-bye to him at King's Cross. 

            "Fine," Harry lied. He didn't want to bore Lupin with how boring his summer had been, or how he'd been moping around the house thinking of his godfather.

            "Your aunt and uncle behaving themselves?" Lupin asked.

            "Yeah, they've resorted to not talking to me but I don't mind. They've been treating me alright besides," Harry said avoiding Lupin's eyes. He didn't want to bring up Sirius, but he knew Lupin knew how he was feeling.

            He glanced at Lupin who was no longer smiling, but giving Harry a searching look. "Harry, do you want to—"

            "No," Harry interrupted. 

            Lupin wasn't convinced that Harry was alright and continued his question. "You do know Harry, it wasn't your fault?" Lupin emphasized, but still formed it into a question.

            Harry didn't answer. Dumbledore had tried to convince him of the same thing. Saying in actuality it was mostly his fault for Sirius's death, but Harry couldn't in actuality believe that it was all Dumbledore's fault. After all, it was he, Harry, who had stopped taking the occlumecy lessons. It was Harry who had fallen for Voldemort's plot when he had seen the vision of Sirius in pain. It was Harry who had brought Sirius out of hiding to come to his rescue. Harry did everything but hold the wand that killed him. 

            "…it wasn't you, Harry," Lupin was saying as Harry came out of his musings. "It wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done." Harry still said nothing.

            Lupin looked frustrated and saddened by Harry's silence. "Harry none of this was your doing. I can't talk much longer, but I want you to promise me one thing. Promise me that you won't let the thought that you killed Sirius rest on your shoulders." Harry was quiet. "Promise me, Harry."

            "I promise," Harry quietly said, but knew he couldn't control his contradicting thoughts. 

            "Take care, Harry," Lupin said watching Harry. "I'll see you again before the summer is over," and with a pop, the green fire in the fireplace disappeared and Lupin's head was gone. Harry lay back against the couch surprised at seeing Lupin. Apparently Ron and Hermione weren't the only ones who were worried about him, but it didn't seem to matter what they said. Harry was set to believe what he wanted to believe.

            Harry remained where he was sitting pondering once again on the past of Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail, and Prongs. 

            The Dursley's returned home about a half an hour later. Aunt Petunia had entered the house first and had looked close to murdering Harry when she saw that he was soaking wet and sitting on her couch. Instead she closed her eyes slowly and attempted to reopen them with a calm expression on her face. It still came off as more of a snarl, but amazingly her voice was sweet and controlled. 

            "Harry, would you _please_, go upstairs and change into some _dry_ clothes," she said stressing the words she felt were the most important in getting her message across. Harry shrugged and got off the couch knowing that he had left a nice imprint there. He made his way to the stairs and had just put his foot on the first step when something hit him forcefully in the back, causing his jaw to make immediate contact with the stairs. 

            Harry turned around abruptly and pulled out his wand, which caused a gasp from Aunt Petunia. Before Harry could even see what it was that had caused him to fall, his face was attacked with a slobbery wet tongue. The attack was so abrupt that Harry's glasses ended up falling off onto the step beside him. 

            By the time that Harry had found his glasses the beast that had attacked him had stepped away from him and Harry had a clear view of it. It was a dog, a very big dog. It had long white hair that almost dragged the floor as it walked around, sniffing every item within its reach. Its eyes were big and black and its long pink tongue seemed unable to remain in its mouth as it walked around the house. 

            Uncle Vernon came in a few seconds later red-faced as he hauled in a large bag of dog food and set it on the ground. The sound of the bag hitting the ground sent a rumble through the house and in less than a heart beat the white dog came rounding the corner, barking its head off. Uncle Vernon however in his efforts to quiet the dog, looked up and noticed Harry's wand. 

            "Why in the world do you have that—_thing_ out? Put it away!" Uncle Vernon said, shouting over the dog. Harry forgetting that he had pulled it out placed it back into his pocket so it'd be unseen from the Dursley's eyes. Finally it seemed to calm down and he planted himself right in front of Harry. Dudley came in a few minutes later brandishing two dog bowls, a leash, and a collar. Dudley was about to walk into the kitchen to set down his newly purchased items, when he noticed the dog sitting in front of Harry, almost like he was guarding him.

            Dudley glared at Harry. "Get away from Lightning!" Dudley yelled at him. The dog, whose name was apparently Lightning did not seem to respond to his own name. He simply sat at the bottom of the steps and wagged his tail happily.

            Harry meanwhile wanted nothing to do with Lightning. He returned Dudley's glare and looked back at the dog. "Take your stupid dog! I don't want him!"

            "Good thing too," Dudley said with a snotty air, "because your not allowed to _touch_ him. He's a purebred northern—"

            "I don't care what he is. Just keep him away from me!" Harry said before thundering up the stairs to his room. He didn't want a dog in the house. It reminded him of Sirius too much. Dudley's new dog was almost the same size as Sirius when he transformed, just a different color. Harry sighed. Just when he thought his vacation couldn't possibly get any worse…


	3. The Best Gift Ever

Chapter 3 

            As the weeks went on, it became obvious that Harry wasn't the only one who disliked the new member of the family. Aunt Petunia dislike for Lightning came when she'd found muddy paw prints making a path threw her house finally ending up with the big fluffy dog lying on her couch. Uncle Vernon's feelings towards the dog were upset when he found that several items of his clothing (including his brand-new pair of high-booster sneakers that had cost a pretty penny) chewed up in the hallway. 

            As for Dudley, he adored the new dog, even though the dog's favorite member of the family seemed to be Harry. Lightning (who had been named after Dudley's new favorite pro-wrestler) would follow Harry everywhere. Dudley, who was not at all happy about this development, tried to teach Lightning to attack Harry on command, but only succeeded in teaching Lightning to growl at Dudley. This new trick made Dudley believe that Harry had done something to bewitch the dog against him, but had no proof.

            Harry woke up the next morning got dressed and opened the door to his bedroom that he had started to keep closed to keep Lightning out of his room. Not surprisingly, Lightning was lying in front of Harry's door and when he opened it, Lighting instantly stood up and a started wagging it's half-tail happily. Harry pushed the dog aside and headed downstairs with Lighting thundering down right behind him. When Harry entered the kitchen Aunt Petunia frowned, but when Lightning entered in after him, she frowned even more.

            "No dogs in the kitchen," Aunt Petunia said, breaking the normal breakfast silence, causing Uncle Vernon to gaze at Harry over his paper. Dudley had not yet gotten up. 

            Harry shrugged. "Talk to Dudley, then." Aunt Petunia did not look happy by this comment, but she didn't protest Lightning's presence until Dudley came down.

            "Morning Mum! Morning Dad! Morning Lightning!" Dudley said bending over to pet the dog 

            "Dudleykins," Aunt Petunia said sweetly. "Why don't you take Lightning outside? He hasn't been out all morning."

            Dudley walked over to the dog. "Lightning want to go outside? Go outside, Lightning?" Lightning who had been laying at the foot of Harry's chair just looked at Dudley with his head in his paws. 

            "Sorry, Mum," Dudley said glaring at Harry. "But he doesn't want to go outside." Aunt Petunia turned away from her son to hid her displeasure about Lightning remaining in the kitchen during mealtimes. 

            Aunt Petunia continued to make breakfast. She prepared a heaping plate full of pancakes, bacon, and sausage on a plate, so much so, that one of the sausages fell off. Aunt Petunia didn't notice as she continued on her route to deliver the plate full of food to Dudley. Lightning, however did notice it, and in seconds he had bounded over to retrieve the fallen sausage. 

            Aunt Petunia glared at the floor thinking about the grease stain on her clean floor and then how the stain had been replaced with dog saliva. Suddenly there was a flash in the living room as a green smoke began to filter into the kitchen. 

            "What in the world?" Aunt Petunia cried as Uncle Vernon stepped up from the table, his protruding stomach bouncing Dudley's orange juice off the table. Lightning meanwhile began to bark at the billowing smoke and was suddenly running over to protect Harry. However, in doing so, Lightning had bolted across the kitchen table, knocking food, drinks, and to Aunt Petunia's horror, plates. Two of Aunt Petunia's clay plates hit the tile floor with an earth shattering bang, as they scattered into many little pieces. The Dursleys' didn't say a word as a call came from the foyer.

            "Hello? Is anyone here?" A tall man entered the kitchen a call later. His robes were black and familiarly shabby. The Dursley's huddled together in fearful recognition. Harry stood up excited. 

            "Professor Lupin?" Harry said. He tried to get closer to Lupin but Lightning wasn't moving from the spot at Harry's feet where he was still giving off a low growl from deep in his throat.

            Lupin backed away slightly from the sight of the dog and Harry threw a disgusted look at his cousin. "Dudley, call of your dog!" Harry ordered, but knew it was useless. Not only did Lightning not listen to Dudley's commands but also Dudley couldn't find his voice while in the presence of an intimidating wizard. 

            Harry just gave the dog a pat and went around him. Lightning looked confused at first, but then followed Harry happily while leaving a trail of spilt coffee in his wake. Harry approached Lupin and gave him a hug. 

            "How are you doing, Harry?" Lupin asked as he raised an eyebrow in the direction of the Dursleys'. "Did you have an enjoyable summer?" Harry heard the Dursley's gasp as they wondered what Harry was going to say. 

            Harry smiled and turned to Lupin winking, "Very enjoyable."

            "Very well, Harry. Why don't you go get your trunk. The Weasleys' have offered to keep you at their house for the remainder of the summer, that is," Lupin said turning his intention to the Dursleys', "if your aunt and uncle don't mind." Lupin let the statement hang over their heads as he waited for their answer. 

            "Well—I—of course he can go," Uncle Vernon said grudgingly. Harry smiled at Lupin as he ran upstairs to get his things while Aunt Petunia continued to stair at her floor in horror. 

            Lupin turned his gaze to the floor as well. "Oh, we should clean up this mess. What do you think ol' boy?" Lupin said to the dog that now considered Lupin as a friend as was getting scratches behind the ears. 

            Before Aunt Petunia or the rest of the Dursleys' could protest, Lupin had removed his wand and muttered "vaccucio." The floor became shiny once again as cups were picked up and food thrown away. He then whispered "repario" and the plates came back together clean and were placed on the table. Another swish allowed food to appear back on the plates and glasses to be refilled. None of the Dursleys' made a move towards the table, for none of them trusted the food of a wizard. 

            Harry came down with Hedwig in her cage as he proceeded to the cabinet under the stairs to get his trunk. He entered the kitchen a few minutes later ready to go. Lupin smiled at the Dursleys. "Very nice to see you again. Harry will see you next summer," Lupin said as he turned back into the foyer, with Harry following him.

            "Bye," Harry said to the Dursleys as he left the kitchen. 

            "Wait just a bloody minute!" Uncle Vernon said as he rushed into the foyer. Lupin turned around at Uncle Vernon's protest. "How do you plan on going?" 

            "We'll be apparating," Lupin said. 

Harry frowned. "But I don't know how to apparate." 

Lupin smiled back him. "That's no problem. All you have to do is hold onto your things."

            "Appara-what?" Uncle Vernon asked, but before Lupin could answer them they were gone. Traveling through space where the arrived within a blink of an eye at the Burrow. Harry didn't bother to ask why he was back at the Burrow when the previous year they had felt it necessary to escort Harry to Sirius's house. Not that Harry minded. He really didn't want to go back to Sirius's home. Not when he knew it was as empty as ever and especially not with the backstabbing house-elf, Kreacher. 

            Harry and Lupin went inside the Burrow where they were immediately greeted by Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "Oh, Harry, dear. I'm so glad the two of you arrived here with no trouble," Mrs. Weasley said as she directed Harry's stuff to make its way upstairs to Ron's room where Harry normally stayed when he visited the Burrow. 

            "Alright then, Harry?" Ron asked grinning. Harry nodded while Hermione remained silent until Ron jabbed her in the ribs.

            "Whar—oh—Hey, Harry," Hermione said giving Harry a weak smile. Harry gave her a questioning look, but before Harry could say anything, Mr. Weasley grabbed his hand eagerly. 

            "Glad to have you back, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, still shaking his hand fiercely. 

            "I know you just go here Harry, but are you ready to go?" Mrs. Weasley asked him.

            "Go? Go where?" Harry said confused.

            "To Diagon Alley, of course," Ron said grinning. "We might as well get our shopping done early. 

            "But I haven't gotten my letter, yet." Harry looked more confused than ever.

            "We haven't either," Ron said, still grinning, "but Mum figures you could go for some fresh air. What do you say Harry?"

            Harry smiled at his friend. "Sure, I'd love to."

            "Great!" Lupin said, happy to see Harry in such a good mood. "To Diagon Alley we go! We'll travel by Floo powder this time. Come on, on we go then!" Lupin said gathering Harry and Ron by the fireplace.

            "Hang on," Harry said looking at Hermione. "Aren't you coming too?"

            Hermione shook her head. "No, I-I don't feel well, Harry. I think I'll just stay here and rest. Have fun though." Hermione gave them another weak smile. 

            "Alright then." Lupin grabbed the floo powder. "Harry you first."

            "And remember to speak clearly this time," Mr. Weasley said winking at

Harry. Harry grabbed some of the powder's that had a texture similar to sand. Then he flew the powder down at his feet while speaking the words "Diagon Alley" very clearly. The room swam and burst into a black field with sparkling colors all around him. Harry came out through the local fireplace of the local bookstore. From the looks of it, it seemed as if they had made sure to clear out anything in the way of people traveling by floo powder. Harry brushed off the few ashes that covered his clothes and waited for Ron and Lupin. They arrived a few seconds after each other and they proceeded down the cobblestones of Diagon Alley.

            They walked into the latest quidditch store and looked at the most recent supplies. Harry bought a broom repair kit to fix up his Firebolt after its shoddy treatment when it was in Umbridge's hands. Ron bought a quaffle so that he and Harry could practice over the summer. Afterwords they headed over to the ice cream shop and bought a cone of ice cream each. On the way, they passed Fred and George's joke shop, which to Harry's surprise was closed. Harry pointed this out to Ron.

            "Oh," Ron said dismissively, "Fred and George decided to take the day off to try and test their latest jokes. Before Harry could say anything, a tall wizard approached them calling Lupin's name.

            Lupin turned. "Lincoln! How have you been, my friend?" Lupin said shaking his hand. 

            "Good, good," Lincoln said. He was a tall man. Taller than Lupin with shining red robes. He had long brown hair and sideburns, along with a mustache to compliment his distinguished look. "And who do we have here?" Lincoln asked as he looked down at Harry and Ron. "By Joe," he exclaimed, his smile widening, "is this Harry Potter?"

            Lupin smiled fondly down at Harry. "Yes, it is. And this is his friend, Ron Weasley."

            "Very nice to meet you boys. Would you mind if I borrowed Remus here for a second?" Harry and Ron looked uncertainly at Lupin who hesitated but for a minute and said that it was fine, but he also warned the boys to stay close. 

            Harry and Ron went in and out of stores looking at the latest merchandise when Harry gasped. Ron looked at him confused and turned to see where Harry was looking. A woman with long black hair had just stepped out of the owlry clutching a cage that contained a brown and black barn owl. Just as Harry was glancing around for something to hide behind Cho Chang looked up in his direction. At the same time, Michael Corner emerged from behind her. 

            Harry grabbed Ron and walked coolly away from Cho back to where Lupin was standing looking around for them. "Ah, sorry about that. My friend Lincoln Marcus can get chatty at times. I actuality have known Marcus longer than your father, Harry, and was actually surprised to see him. His parents have been on the move for a while and at the end of his first year, he was forced to go Durmstring. I haven't heard from him since. Anyway, anything else you boys want to do?"

            Harry shook his head and Ron agreed. "No, we're done."

            "Rightio, come on back and we'll go back the same way we came in." They three of them headed back to the bookstore. Harry was especially silent after seeing Cho as he took the floo powder and cried out "the Burrow." When he arrived their, he almost reeled back in surprise. The entire Weasley family (except Percy) were standing in the living room along with half of the members of the Order. All of them yelled "surprise" the moment they saw him. 

            Harry remained rooted to the spot, which caused both Ron and Lupin to crash into him, but both of them smiled. "Happy Birthday, Harry!" Ron and Lupin cried, and all Harry could do was smile back. This was his family. 


	4. Padfoot, Moony, Prongs, and Harry

**A/N**: Thank you all who reviewed! Your comments just make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Anywho, I hope you all will continue reading and reviewing. Enjoy!

**Saya-Sato**: Yeah, I know Harry wasn't surprised when Lupin's head appeared in the fire, but after all the times Sirius did it and the couple times he did it, I just made it one of those normal wizarding things. You can't really expect Harry to be too surprised. He had to figure someone from the Order was going to check up on him in some way. And about the transition to the Burrow. You're definitely right about that one. My transition was fast, but that was mainly because I couldn't think of anything else to happen to Harry while he stayed with the Durselys'. I hope you enjoy the rest of my story and thanks for the pointers!

Chapter 4 

            The celebration went on late into the evening. They all stayed up drinking butterbeer and chattering happily. Fred and George brought home some of those fireworks that had caused mayhem in the hallways at Hogwarts last year. There were shapes of all sizes. There was a dragon breathing fire, a wizard that kept trying to hex them but kept having the spells bounce back unto himself, and a beautiful butterfly that would shower down rose shaped sparks over them. 

            In the way of gifts, Harry had received the newest book on professional Quidditch players and some chocolate frogs from Ron, some of Fred and George's trick candy free of charge, a sweater from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and a box of Every Flavor beans from Ginny. It wasn't till about this time that he realized that Hermione wasn't with them enjoying the fireworks. Harry pondered this question aloud.

            "She's not feeling well," Mrs. Weasley answered sadly. "Poor dear." Harry nodded blankly as he felt a little disappointed that Hermione wasn't with them in the celebration, but the minute that George passed him another butterbeer Harry temporarily forgot about Hermione's absence. 

            Harry watched as one of Fred's Fashion Faux Pas's resulted in the changing of Ron's hair from a blazing red, to a sickening color of puce. When Ron finally saw what everyone was laughing at, his face almost became the color of his hair. Harry laughed as Ron began demanding the antidote from the twins. A second later, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder. Harry turned around and was surprised to find a serious looking Lupin. 

            "Harry, can I talk to you for a minute?" Lupin asked. Harry instantly became somber, he knew that this could only be about one thing and Harry really didn't want to think about it at the moment when he was having so much fun, but Harry nodded his yes anyway, and he and Lupin stepped outside. 

            "Harry, I wanted to give you your present alone so that it would be just for you," Lupin said as he reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a small square box that looked like it could hold a necklace. Harry looked at Lupin in surprise as he unwrapped it. "It's not much really, but I thought you'd—I hoped you'd like it." Lupin watched Harry somewhat nervously.

            Inside lay a card that looked exactly like a card you'd find in one of the Chocolate Frogs boxes, and at first, Harry thought it was, but when he looked at it more closely he realized what infamous wizard was smiling back at him, and Harry gave Lupin the first real smile he'd given anyone in a long time. 

            "Do you like it?" Lupin asked. "Because like I said, it wasn't much, but I thought—"

            "It's great, Professor, thank you," Harry said taking Lupin in a hug and then turned back to look at the card. For on the card was a picture of his Godfather. Except in this picture his hair was tidy and his eyes were not hollow from years in Azkaban. He resembled the handsome man that Harry remembered from the pictures of his parents wedding when Sirius had been the best man. 

            "Professor—" Harry started but stopped when he heard the back door to the Burrow being thrown open. 

            "Remus," Mr. Weasley said running towards Lupin. "We've got to go. We just got word from Tonks about dementors attacking mug—" Arthur Weasley stopped when he noticed Harry. 

            Lupin just nodded and he turned back to face Harry. "You stay here, Harry, and stay out of trouble. I'm sorry we couldn't stay longer, but I do hope you enjoy your party. I'll come to visit again before you return to Hogwarts," and with that, Lupin and Mr. Weasley disappeared from sight. 

            Harry stood there reeling from the latest news. Harry knew that the last word Mr. Weasley meant to say was "muggles." _Dementors are attacking muggles_, Harry repeated in his head. _Voldemort is making his move._ Harry shuddered remembering the prophecy. _…And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… _Harry would admit to anyone who asked him that Voldemort was not his biggest fear. He had even admitted that to Lupin in his third year, but the idea that you and you alone had the power to destroy the greatest dark wizard ever known was, to say it bluntly, scary. And when it finally came to a head-to-head battle, only one of them would survive. 

            "Harry?" Harry turned surprised to see Ron standing there looking at him with his hair back to its natural color. "What are you doing out here?"

            "Nothing," Harry said, shoving the card that Lupin had given him in his pocket. 

            "Did you hear? Dementors have started attacking muggles!" Ron said worriedly, not noticing Harry's motion to hide the card. 

            "Yeah, I heard. Voldemort (Ron you really need to get used to hearing his name. After all, it's only a name) has some new plans."

            "You think V-v-v—He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named gave up on whatever the Prophecy is?" Ron asked failing miserably at his attempt to say Voldemort's name. Harry swallowed. He had yet to tell Ron or Hermione what Dumbledore had told him at the end of last year. All in all, neither of them needed to know. To tell them about the Prophecy would only worry them. 

            "It's possible, Ron, but for some reason I doubt it," Harry said. They stood in silence for a few minutes before Mrs. Weasley nervously called them back inside. The news of the dementors had put a damper on the party. Mrs. Weasley became worried at the obvious threat Voldemort was bringing with the new activity of the dementors. Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron could easily sense their mother's mood change and decided to calm down. After lounging around downstairs finishing off the rest of the butterbeer, and reading passages from Harry's new Quidditch book aloud, Harry and Ron headed upstairs to check on Hermione, whom they had yet to see all evening.

            Hermione was staying in Ginny's bedroom, which was across the hall from Ron's. Harry knocked softly on the door and called out Hermione's name. When there was no answer, Harry opened the door slowly. He and Ron walked in only to find Hermione sitting by the window, looking up at the falling darkness of the sky. 

            "Hermione?" Ron asked hesitantly, unsure of how to react by Hermione's strange behavior. 

            Hermione turned around abruptly to face them. "Hey, Ron, Harry." She eyed both of them carefully. "How long have you two been standing there?"

            "N-not long," Ron stuttered. "Are you feeling better?"

            Hermione shrugged. "A little. I still have a little bit of a headache." She turned towards Harry. Her eyes previously seeming cold and empty seemed to fill up with sorrow. 

            "I'm sorry I couldn't celebrate your birthday with you, Harry," she said. 

            Harry lifted an eyebrow. "That's okay Hermione—"

            "But I do have a present for you," Hermione said stepping away from the window and heading to her trunk. She rummaged around for a few minutes and then lifted a medium sized package and set it on the bed. Harry hesitantly stepped over to the bed, but then more assuredly began to unwrap it with the help of Hermione's normal happy smile.

            Harry looked at the gift carefully, recognizing it from past experiences with both Dumbledore and Snape. 

            "You got Harry a Pensieve?" Ron asked confused. "Why?"

            Hermione looked offended. "Harry has a lot on his mind Ron, and it is sometimes easier just to put your memories some where so that you have time to think."

            "He has as much on his mind as we do!" Ron retorted. "After all, he's only sixteen."

            "Since when do you ever think of _anything,_ Ron? Quidditch seems to be the only thing on your mind—"

            "That's not true!" Ron shouted, but before he could say anything more, Harry interrupted.

            "Enough! I am tired of your bickering! Hermione, your present is great, thank you," Harry said shooting a look at Ron. Ron grudgingly turned to Hermione and apologized for his comments, while Hermione apologized for saying he thought nothing but Quidditch. The three of them sat in silence until Hermione proclaimed that her head still hurt and that she was going to go to bed. Ron and Harry said goodnight and left. 

            Harry and Ron retreated to Ron's room where Ron pulled out an old ratty issue of Quality Quidditch's monthly magazine and Harry pulled out his new Quidditch book once again. However, the Quidditch book was just a cover. Harry inconspicuously removed the card that Lupin had given him from his pocket and set it inside the book. The setup of the card was exactly like those of the wizarding cards found in Chocolate Frogs. A picture of Sirius with his name was on the front, and on the back was a short bio. 

**Sirius Black, A.K.A. Padfoot and Snuffles was a wizard of amazing talents.**

**A long time friend to James Potter since attending Hogwarts School of Witch Craft **

**and Wizardry, Black accompanied his friend to his wedding of Lily Evans as the best man. Later he became the Godfather to their son, Harry Potter. He made the pages of the Daily Prophet with false accusations of being in league with Voldemort and was sentenced to life in Azkaban prison. Sirius Black became the first to escape from the infamous prison and later found himself reacquainted with his werewolf friend, Moony, his Godson, Harry, and a newfound friendship with his loyal Hippograff, Buckbeak. Black died honorably for the Order and to those who knew him best, he will be remembered forever for his love for his Godson and his unmistakable loyalty to his friends. **

Harry smiled at the words he knew Lupin must have written. Especially when he wrote out Voldemorts name and mentioned the Order. Harry's smile became wider when he remembered how Sirius would laugh at the latest news in the Daily Prophet about his whereabouts. Harry figured that's why Lupin had mentioned the accusations against Sirius and his escape from Azkaban. 

"What's so funny, Harry?" Ron's voice said interrupting his thoughts. 

"What?" Harry asked startled. 

"You've been smiling at that page for the last fifteen minutes. What's so funny?" Ron asked. 

Harry looked down at the card, and decided to show it to Ron. He'd think it was pretty cool too. When Ron had finished reading he smiled too. "Bloody hell! That's an awesome present! That was really nice of Lupin. It looks exactly like the real cards too!"

"Yeah, I couldn't have asked for a better present to remember Sirius by," Harry said, but then became quiet. They both knew what Harry was thinking. He wanted more than a card to remember Sirius by. He wanted Sirius. Harry stuffed the card into the book and set it on top of his trunk. Ten minutes later, Harry was lying on a cot on the floor, and Ron was fast asleep in his bed. 

Harry lay on his back, looking up at the stars. They were actually more of blurry white lights, because Harry's glasses were lying on the floor next to him. A few minutes later he saw one less light then there had been a minute ago. It disappeared only to reappear again leaving only seconds for the next one to follow suite. Before Harry could even put on his glasses, it stopped. Harry looked up at the sky, his glasses now in place, and watched carefully. Still, nothing happened. He could have sworn that he'd seen the stars blinking, but for all he knew, they could have been fireflies. 

Harry lay back down for a few more minutes with his glasses on, waiting for something to happen. After a while, when the sky remained unchanging, Harry removed his glasses and fell into a restful sleep. It felt like he'd only been asleep for a few moments when he heard sounds coming from downstairs. Harry instantly reached for his glasses. Slowly he got up and crept to the door. The voices were defiantly coming from downstairs but he still couldn't make them out. 

Harry glanced back at Ron and then opened the door slowly enough as to not make it squeak. He continued till he was at the top of the flight of stairs. As soon as he arrived there, he could make out the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley clearly. 

"Two Muggles died tonight, Molly. Two! This is how it all started last time, too. It's so aggravating, because if Cornelius had just believed Harry's story to begin with, we could have made peace with the dementors and we wouldn't be in this mess!" Mr. Weasley's angry voice filtered up the stairs. 

"What does the Ministry think of all this?" Mrs. Weasley asked anxiously.

"They're worried. Really worried. Now that they're sure that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is a possible threat Cornelius is attempting to assemble an army, similar to the Order, against him, but everyone seems worried that the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will be coming back with more power than ever. Especially now that people are starting to believe that article Harry submitted last year," Mr. Weasley said.

"And the Death Eaters at Azkaban?" Mrs. Weasley asked. 

"Still there, thankfully. We've got some Aurors there, but we all know they're not as effective as the dementors. I hate to say it, but if You-Know-Who has his way, they won't be in there long."

Harry heard the sound of a chair being pulled out and then Molly continued, the tiredness in her voice evident. "Do you think it wise to take Harry away from the Durselys'? He's more protected there than he is here."

"Albus was worried about it too, but he'll only be here for a little less than half the summer. Besides, it's very unlikely that You-Know-Who will try anything here or at the Durselys'."

"But once Harry gets to Hogwarts, You-Know-Who can't—" Mrs. Weasley was cut off when a loud scratching noise, followed by a bark echoed from up the stairs.


	5. Unforgivable Harry

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, with a special thanks to Saya-Sato for critiquing my work and giving me advice. I hope you all will continue read and review! Enjoy!

Chapter 5

"What was that?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. Harry heard the scraping of chairs and knew he had to get back to the room fast. Harry ran inside to find Ron awake and standing on his bed. The barking seemed to increase when Harry stepped into the room. Harry started walking slowly to his trunk as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Hermione, Fred, and George filed into the room. 

Harry put his hand over the lid and lifted, half expecting to see Sirius bound out of the trunk, but instead, a white flash of fur was all Harry saw before he hit the ground. Lightning stood on top of Harry wagging his tail and licking Harry's face. 

"Get off!" Harry said pushing the dog off him as Fred and George started laughing. 

            "You didn't tell us you were bringing a dog, Harry," Ron said jumping off his bed, and coming over to pet the dog. 

            "It wasn't really planned,' Harry said looking at the dog with disgust. "Lightning is Dudley's dog, not mine. He must have snuck into my trunk some how."

            "Can he stay, Mum?" Ginny asked enthusiastically. 

            Mrs. Weasley looked at Mr. Weasley. "We'll have to see. After all, if Harry's cousin doesn't know the dog is here, it is most likely we'll have to bring him back."

            "He doesn't," Harry said emphatically. He did not want Lightning to stay any longer than he had to. 

            "Then it's settled," Mr. Weasley said tiredly. "Tomorrow we'll take Lightning back to the Dursley's. Meanwhile, he will sleep in here with you boys. Now, get some sleep." The Weasley's and Hermione departed while Ron and Harry settled back into bed. 

            "Ooof!" Harry said, winded as Lightning walked over him and laid down right between his legs. Harry squirmed moving his legs about trying to get Lightning to move, but the dog merely lay down, placing its head in its paws. Harry groaned. 

            Ron laughed. "It's only for one day. Just keep telling yourself that." Ron reached over and turned off the light. "Night, Harry."

            "Night, Ron." Harry heard the squeaking of the mattress springs as Ron rolled over. Lightning was now snoring happily between Harry's legs. Harry tried moving around to get more comfortable, but the dog had decided to lie almost directly in the middle of the bed. Sighing, Harry removed his glasses and laid down flat on his back so that he was looking up at the sky once again. This time though, as his eyes began to drift close, the stars remained their unmoving twinkling selves until all became dark. 

            _Harry was in a room. He looked around suspiciously trying to figure out what was going on. His first thought was that he was inside Voldemort's mind, or that Voldemort was in his, but he held up his hands. They weren't bony and pale as they had been in so many other dreams. They were his hands. _

_            Harry jerked his head up alert at the sound of snoring. His eyes traced over the room again. It was empty, but as soon as Harry began to move forward, he found that the snoring was becoming louder. He walked down a long cinder-block corridor ending in the entryway to yet another room. This room however, was not empty._

_            A bed was located on the far left side of the room, its headboard touching the wall. The bed was not empty. Unfortunately it contained Harry's obese cousin, Dudley. His dark hair was in disarray as he slept in a tee shirt and shorts. One leg was thrown over the covers while his left arm was hanging off the bed. Harry gagged. This is not what he wanted to see. _

_            "Get up you half witted troll!" Harry turned in recognition of the voice. As Dudley stirred awake flopping around in the covers like a fish out of water, Harry turned to face the speaker. There, he was staring at a mirror image of himself. The Harry in front of him was wearing the same blue and white plaid pajamas, with the same untidy hair and glasses, and the same lightning bolt scar visible on his forehead. Even Harry's own wand was visibly pointed at Dudley._

_            Harry turned his attention back to his cousin, trying to figure out what was going on. He looked as terrified as ever._

_            "Mum, says you're not allowed to use magic," he murmured fearfully._

_            Harry's mirror image grinned nastily. "Well Mummy isn't here, is she?" Dudley grabbed the covers hard. "Imperio!" Harry shouted. The next second Dudley got rigidly to his feet and began to bounce on the bed. He jumped higher and higher to the point where every time he jumped, his head hit the ceiling. Blood began to trickle down his forehead. The whole time the evil Harry was laughing. It was a scary unnatural laugh that was unfamiliar even to the real Harry's ears._

_            Finally Harry waved his wand and his cousin stopped bouncing. Dudley put his hand to the back of his head, and reeled back in surprise when he saw the blood on his hand. He swiftly jumped off the bed and tried to make a run towards the door._

_            "I'm not done with you yet, Duddlykins," Harry taunted. "Crucio!" Dudley collapsed in cries of pain and agony as he withered and squirmed on the floor. _

_            The real Harry was about to reach for his wand and end this horrible torture, but he was suddenly met with a blinding pain in his forehead. The pounding got louder and louder, as evil Harry was still laughing at Dudley's pathetic figure on the floor, and as the real Harry watched this in between white flashes of pain, he couldn't help but feel that his mirror image was laughing at both of them. Nevertheless, the pain was relentless and his body had now started to shake uncontrollably. _

            Harry flew his eyes open. He instantly saw the concerned face of his friend, Ron. Lighting, who was also alert, was staring at Harry in confusion.  Harry looked over and saw Ron's hand resting on his shoulder as he took a deep breath to calm down. 

            "Alright, Harry?" Ron asked worried. Harry reached for his glasses and glanced out the window. The sky was still dark, but in the distance it showed faint shimmers of the sun that was threatening to peep out from behind the horizon in the east. 

            "Yeah, it was--it was just a dream. You can go back to bed, Ron, I'll be all right." Ron yawned appropriately but gave Harry a concerned and unsatisfied look. 

            "Fine, but you're going to tell me everything at breakfast." With that Ron walked back to bed and the room was filled with his snores in minutes. 

            Harry stood up and headed for his trunk. He wasn't going to be able to sleep any more. His dream was strange, but from the recent events, it wasn't exactly all that unexplainable. Harry's anger over Lightning could easily be targeted at Dudley for even purchasing the dog in the first place. And there had never been a moment that Harry had not wanted to use magic on Dudley. Harry had even thought about going into Dudley's room at night and hexing him, that is, before the Ministry's continuous reprimands. 

            Harry could only explain this much of the dream. The rest of the dream bothered him fiercely. Harry had never been fond of the Dursleys' and the feelings were neutral about the Dursleys', but all in all, Harry had never thought to try one or any of the Unforgivable Curses on them. He knew the horrors the curses caused, but in Harry's dream, the other Harry was ruthless and mean. His personality was merciless and filled with hatred. Harry saw this expression only once before, and that had been in the narrow snake-like eyes of Lord Voldemort himself.  

Harry finished dressing, but as he was about to close his trunk he spied the pensieve that Hermione had given him. Harry looked at it carefully. He'd seen Dumbledore and Snape use it countless time, but he was uncertain how to get a particular memory out of his head. Harry decided to try it out.

            He reached into his trunk and pulled out his wand and he held it at his temple. He thought real hard about him living in the cupboard at the Dursleys' (a memory he definitely didn't want to remember) and he slowly began to pull the wand away. Harry felt the memory slowly disappear from his vision, as if he had watched a moving picture fade to black. A thin silvery strand hung from the tip of his wand and Harry held it up and then slowly brought it down towards the pensieve. He lifted his wand up once again, and the silvery strand was left alone in the pensieve. 

            Harry examined it for a second and then decided to remove one more memory from his head. He held his wand to his temple and thought of the night Sirius had died. He could hear his own screams as he yelled at Lupin to help Sirius as he struggled to relinquish himself from Lupin's grasp. Harry gasp as the memory left him and Harry placed it in the pensieve with the other memory. He watched them circle each other as he now only had titles to live the memories by. 

            The memory about the cupboard was only thought of as the cupboard, but there was no horrible memory of anything Harry remembered that was in relation to the cupboard. Sirius's death was titled nothing more than Sirius's death. The memory of Bellatrix along with Sirius falling threw the veil was no longer apart of his thoughts. But even though Harry could no longer remember Sirius falling threw the veil, he still felt an enormous amount of unaccountable guilt.


	6. Ditching Dursleys'

A/N: Hehehe, I'm loving these reviews! Thank you all! I hope you are enjoying my story, and will continue to read. The seventh chapter is going to go a bit faster. I think it's about time they got to Hogwarts, but anywho, continue to review. Hehehe, that rhymes! One more note before you read, I was hoping I could get some people to review my other story, _Till Death Do We Part_. The title is a cliché I know, but I promise the story to be original. Enjoy!

Chapter 6 

            A few hours later, the rest of the Weasley household was up and Harry headed downstairs to join them for breakfast. Hermione came down acting like her normal cheery self, while Ron sat across from him giving him meaningful looks. Ron seemed eager to know what Harry's dream had been about and Harry wanted his input, but the moment never came for him to tell Ron. Shortly after breakfast, Mr. Weasley ushered Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Lightning outside, leaving an unhappy Ginny, Fred, and George inside. Harry and the gang were going to go to the Dursleys' to return Lighting and Mr. Weasley was sure that the Dursleys' would not be happy about the presence of over four wizards and witches in their household. The option of Apparating or using Floo powder was also out of the question. The last travel to the Dursleys' blocked fireplace limited the travel to Apparating. The problem with that was that Mr. Weasley was the only who knew how to Apparate, and because of the ancient magic protecting the house, Apparating was near impossible. The only reason Lupin was able to Apparate was that Lupin obtained special permission from the Ministry to access a four-minute doorway that only Remus Lupin and Harry would be able to use. The planning Lupin had gone through to do this had been done months in advance. The only other option that would be inconspicuous to Muggles would be driving a Muggle car.

            To Harry's surprise, Mr. Weasley was able to drive a car quite well. Now when Harry said Mr. Weasley could drive a Muggle car quite well, he meant quite well for a wizard. Mr. Weasley still took roads at a speed that should not even be attempted by people who were immortal, and his use of the brakes were not exactly smooth to say the least. Harry was assured that if the car had been new enough to be equipped with air bags they would have gone off at least ten times between the Burrow and Surrey. 

            To make matters worse, Lighting wasn't the best traveling dog. He nervously walked across the back seat over Hermione and Harry's laps as he went back and forth between the two passenger windows. Between "oomph's" of having the wind knocked out of her by Lightning, Hermione kept up a steady stream of chatter and worries about the D.A. and her O.W.L.S. Meanwhile, Harry knew Ron was itching to ask about the dream, but even if there had been breaks in between Hermione's endless babble they both knew that Ron couldn't ask for the information while Mr. Weasley was in the car, and even if Ron were to ask in Mr. Weasley's presence, Harry couldn't possible tell Ron what had really gone on. He was being allowed a normal summer by being able to stay with the Weasleys' and Harry wasn't about to ruin it by alarming Dumbledore or the Order so that they would have to send him back to the Dursleys' if there was anything to worry about. 

            The drive to Surrey was not a short one, especially with an overly excited dog that seemed to have to go to the bathroom every half-an-hour, but they finally made it within a few hours. They entered the neighborhood of Privet Drive at a speed no lower than fifty miles-per-hour causing them to drive past number four twice in a dazzling blur of the pink flours Aunt Petunia grew in the front yard. 

            Upon reaching the house, Harry was surprised to see that the Dursleys' car was not in the driveway. This was not a good sign.

            "Well why don't we see if they're home?" Mr. Weasley said getting out of the car. The minute Mr. Weasley's car door opened, Lightning jumped out of Harry's lap into the front seat where he jumped out the door and happily onto the green grass. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stepped out as well, as Harry stood a moment trying to remove the white hairs that had clasped onto his clothes. Finally giving a sigh of frustration, he followed his friends to the front door. 

            Mr. Weasley had already raised the knocker and had knocked several times, but no one had answered. 

            "Do you have another way to get inside, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked. 

            Harry nodded and went over to the flowerpot and removed a single key. He slipped the key into the door, waited for the click, and then pulled the door open. 

            "Ingenious," murmured Mr. Weasley as Harry carelessly threw the key back into the flowerpot. The four of them stepped inside with Lightning trailing happily behind. There was no sign of the Dursleys'.

            Hermione looked around, having never been inside before when a sharp bark came from the kitchen. The four headed into the kitchen where Lightning sat eagerly wagging his stubby tail again a bag of dog food. Harry grudgingly rook a cup and poured some food in Lightning's bowl as he ate hungrily. 

            "Look at this," Ron said standing near the kitchen table. Harry, Hermione, and Mr. Weasley came over to where Ron was standing and holding a piece of paper. 

LOST DOG

Purebred Northern Shepard, White

Answers to the name "Lightning"

If found please call: 323-4398

            Harry frowned. The Dursleys' were not dumb enough to think that Lightning happened to disappear the day that Harry left which made Harry wonder why they were bothering to put up signs. Harry put the paper down and headed over to the calendar that the Dursleys' wrote practically their whole life on, but caught sight a message by the phone along the way. _Call Johnsons' about watering flowers_. Harry read it confused. Where the Dursleys' going on vacation somewhere? 

            "Hey look!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed. Harry turned. "A micrometer!" Hermione stifled a giggle as Mr. Weasley opened the black door and looked inside. Ron was looking at with curiosity. 

            "A micrometer? What's that?" Ron asked. 

            "Actually it's called a microwave," Hermione said. Mr. Weasley looked at her fascinated.

            "What does it do? Make things smaller?" Mr. Weasley was practically giddy. Harry rolled his eyes as Hermione explained and headed over to the calendar. Harry nearly gagged when he saw what was written on it. Apparently the Dursleys' had gone to visit Aunt Marge, a trip that Harry was all too happy to miss. Unfortunately, it looked like they wouldn't be back till the day that Harry had to leave for Hogwarts, and there was no way that they could drop off Lightning before they reached King's Cross. He was determined not to take Lightning to Hogwarts, even if he was allowed too. 

            "Bad news, guys," Harry said interrupting Hermione's demonstration of a bag of popcorn being placed in the microwave. He told them the situation. 

            "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would okay a dog in this situation, Harry," Mr. Weasley said. Harry inwardly groaned. He didn't want that to be an option.

            "Why can't we just leave him here?" Harry mumbled knowing very well that that wasn't possible, even though it would be fun to see how much Lighting could destroy in the Dursleys' absence. 

            Hermione glared at him. "You know that there are animal rights to non-magical creatures too, Harry." Harry ignored her and suddenly snapped his fingers. 

            "Mrs. Figg! Maybe she can take care of him till the Dursleys' come back," Harry said excitedly. "Ron and I will go talk to her. Hermione, why don't you finish showing Mr. Weasley how to make popcorn?" Before Hermione could object, Harry had grabbed Lightning and pulled him away from his bowl and headed out the front door followed closely by Ron. The moment that they were outside, Ron was finally able to ask the question about the dream. Harry slowly told the story, and when he was done, Ron looked horrified.

            "I know you've always wanted to get back at your cousin, but that dream was intense. An Unforgivable Curse…" Ron let the words hang. Ron himself had never felt the pain of an Unforgivable Curse, but the very name stroke fear. After all, they were now at the age of Voldemort's return where his name wasn't even uttered without being paired with relentless torture.

            They continued in silence to Wisteria Walk with Lightning trotting happily beside them. When they reached the house, Harry knocked on the door, and was almost instantly greeted by Mrs. Figg. 

            "Harry!" She stopped and looked around. "Everything al—Achoo!" She suddenly stopped to sneeze. "Sorry about that. Everything al-alr—Achoo!" She sneezed again. "Confound it!"

            "We're fine, Mrs. Figg," Harry said. "My friend Ron and I actually stopped by to wonder if you could take care of Lightning till the Dursleys' get back."

            "Lightning? Who's Li-Light—Achoo!" She asked. "Come inside, boys. Achoo!" Harry and Ron stepped inside as Mrs. Figg ran off to get a tissue. Her house was uniquely decorated with shelves upon shelves with dusty books on beginner magic. A cauldron hung over a fireplace bubbling with a bluish substance. Several rocking chairs were laid out among the living room, a pointed hat rested on one of them. The floor was made of hard wood and stained a dark brown. A large iron lamp hung from the ceiling with holders that seemed to be meant to hold wax candles because of the dried white wax that had trickled over the side that currently held electric candles.

            "Uh sorry," Mrs. Figg sniffled as she entered the room again wiping her nose. "Who is this Lightning?" Just as Harry was about to answer, the sound of hissing and growling caught their attention. "What in the world?" Mrs. Figg asked as they followed her into the foyer. 

            Lightning had an orange and white cat cornered. The cat however was holding its ground as it hissed and swiped at Lightning's face, claws out stretched. Lightning was stretched forward in a playful motion with his rear end straight up in the air. 

            "Merlin's Beard…" Mrs. Figg said rushing to the cat and picking him up. Unfortunately, just as the cat had been lifted up out of Lightning's reach, Mrs. Figg sneezed and the cat jumped free running towards the kitchen with Lightning at the cat's heels. The sound of various objects falling to the floor was evident. The three of them ran into the room. Chairs, cups, and clay containers that held potion ingredients littered the floor as Lightning stood with his head sticking out the cat door, barking. 

            "Lightning, come here!" Harry ordered. Lightning stiffened and instantly silenced himself as he slowly walked over to Harry with his tail between his legs. "Meet Lightning," Harry said weakly. 

            "I see," Mrs. Figg said erupting into a fit of sneezes as she attempted to get out her wand. 

            "Mrs. Figg, I'm really sorry," Harry said looking around at the damage. Ron was already helping to right chairs.

            "Oh don't worry," she said. She waved her wand and attempted to repair the broken items, but only succeeded at causing the pieces to hurl at the wall at the opposite side of the room. Harry winced as the pieces hit and shattered even more. 

            Mrs. Figg blushed slightly. "Could you boys help me pick up the pieces?" Harry and Ron nodded. Harry instructed Lightning to stay as he headed over to pick up the shards of broken glass and place them in the trashcan. Mrs. Figg did what she could, but she was often interrupted by sneezing fits.

            When they were done Mrs. Figg thanked them wearily. "I have every fondness for animals Harry, but I don't think I'll be able to take care of Lightning." Harry's heart sank. "I don't think it'd work out with my cats and I think I'm aller—Achoo! I think I'm allergic to dogs," she sniffled, her eyes now starting to turn red and water.

            "That's okay Mrs. Figg," Harry said disappointed. "And I'm sorry for all the trouble he caused." 

            "It's alright, Harry. It was good seeing you again, though. You'll have to visit me more often next summer, without the Dursleys' knowing that you enjoy it of course," Mrs. Figg said grinning before her face contorted into yet another sneeze.

            "Thanks Mrs. Figg," Harry said as he, Ron, and Lightning headed for the door. "Have a good year at school Harry. You too Ron, and remember to stay on your guard!" Harry waved as he and Ron headed back to the Dursleys'. Harry turned back only once to find Mrs. Figg watching them from her living room window to make sure their walk went uninterrupted. 

            Ron couldn't help but burst out laughing at the episode with the cat once they were outside. Harry smiled, but knew what this meant. With no one to watch Lightning, Harry had no choice but to take Lightning to Hogwarts with him. 

            They arrived back at the Dursleys' where they found Hermione and Mr. Weasley sitting at the television eating popcorn. Mr. Weasley was watching the television in enthrallment as he held the remote and changed the channels at rate of speed Harry didn't know possible. He finally stopped on one of the Spanish channels as he listened confused.

            "What are they saying on the, tele-vis-on?" Mr. Weasley pronounced carefully. 

            "It's Spanish," Hermione said sounding slightly exasperated. "They speak it in many countries in Central America and in Mexico."

            Mr. Weasley turned the volume up captivated as Hermione rolled her eyes. She caught sight of Ron and Harry and instantly jumped up, eager to change the topic. "How did it go?" There was a bark from behind them and Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Not well I take it?"

            Harry looked at Ron, who like his father was staring at the TV in fascination. "You can say that again," Harry said turning his attention back to Hermione. Harry gave her a quick recount of what happened. 

            "The poor cat," Hermione said. 

            "Right, 'poor cat,'" Harry repeated sarcastically. "Always about the animals."

            Hermione glared at him. As Harry turned to Mr. Weasley. "Mr. Weasley? I think we're ready to go."

 Mr. Weasley looked up at them. "Right, of course. Come along then." He pointed the remote at the TV and watched as it turned off. He stared at it longingly before an "ah-hem" from Hermione got him to put it down. 

            Mr. Weasley grabbed the bag of popcorn and they headed outside to the car. Ron took the front seat once again, as Lightning jumped onto Hermione's lap in the back seat. Harry and Hermione gave each other weary looks at the idea of being stuck with Lightning again but the look was quickly broken when Mr. Weasley suddenly hit the gas causing them to go forward as the car went backwards. Harry nervously grabbed the door for dear life as Mr. Weasley once again took off down the road.


	7. Flight of the OWLS

**A/N**: Thanks for the reviews! Okay, so here's the scoop. I lied just a tiny winy bit. In this chapter they're not quite at Hogwarts like I said, but they're getting closer! You'll just have to wait till the next chapter for Hogwarts, but don't worry, I've got a few other tricks up my sleeve. Continue to R/R please!

Special thanks to:

**Saya-Sato**'s continuing critiques. After all, it is near impossible for a writer to critique his/her own work. BTW, I did go back and edit the dream sequence from chapter five using your advice. I'm very much obliged. I never realized how many times I used Dudley until I read your comment. Thank you!

**Shinigami06** for being a loyal reader of my story and taking the time to review each chapter. :)

Chapter 7

            They arrived at the Burrow by early evening. Ginny, George, and Fred were all happy to see Lightning's return while Hermione and Ron were starting to like Lightning less and less. Lightning's nervousness in the car became more pronounced on the drive home when Lightning had become carsick in the back seat. To put it lightly, none of the occupants were that happy about Lightning's presence. 

            The Weasleys', Harry, and Hermione hung out in the living room while Mrs. Weasley made dinner. Away from Mr. Weasley's ears, Harry told the rest of the Weasleys' and Hermione about his dream. All seemed to have the same horrified reaction as Ron except for Fred and George.

            "The fat prat has had it coming to him," George said shaking the dream off.

            "Yeah," Fred agreed. "It's just too bad that the dream wasn't real."

            "The whole dream wasn't about me torturing Dudley, though. It seemed as if I was torturing myself at the same time. It's hard to explain," Harry said. 

            "Harry doesn't want to kill his cousin," Hermione said. "Cause if that were true, he would have left him to the dementors kiss last year."

            "Well, unless this is another one of your visions, Harry, I don't think that this is anything to worry about," George said.

            Harry's brow furrowed. "I don't think it is, that is to say, it doesn't follow the pattern of my other visions, but I can't say for sure."

            Fred looked like he was going to say something more, but Mrs. Weasley's call for dinner interrupted him. A few minutes later, everyone was seated around the dinner table as Lightning ate his dinner happily from his bowl. When Lightning was finished he crawled under the table and lay down by Harry's feet. 

            Harry just picked at the roasted chicken on his plate. He wasn't very hungry and it actually was beginning to show. His extravagant meals at the Dursleys' and at the Burrow were getting nothing but nibbles at a time causing both his shirts and his pants to become looser around his body. He fed some of his chicken to Lightning to make it look like he'd eaten more than he really had. He excused himself and headed upstairs claiming to be tired. Lightning trotted up the stairs behind him. 

            What Hermione had said about Dudley and the dementors really got to him. Why had he been so eager to save and protect Dudley? He could have easily just run away from the situation and left Dudley to save his own skin. After all, Dudley had abused Harry for fifteen years and he had wanted so much to jinx and hex him since he had found out he had magical powers just to make Dudley's life as miserable as he had made Harry's. But Harry couldn't see himself killing the Dursleys' as much as he hated them. He couldn't even see himself performing an Unforgivable Curse on any of them. 

            Harry pondered on this and realized that the Dursleys' mean and unkind attitudes were child's play. They were negative about magic for being something they didn't understand and therefore didn't want to exist. The real people who deserved to be tortured were Voldemort's Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. They were more than unkind in nature. They killed and tortured for the pure fun of it. Harry felt his hand ball into a fist as he thought of Bellatrix Lestrange, Wormtail, and Voldemort, the three wizards and witches who had single-handedly ruined his life. 

            Harry reached over and brought out the pensieve once again, determined not to dream again about Dudley. After taking out his wand he removed the dream from his head and placed it inside the pensieve. He then took off his glasses and climbed into bed. Surprisingly, he fell asleep quickly, but it wasn't a peaceful sleep. The voices of Harry's past haunted him that night to form recurring images of his past. 

            _"Kill the spare." _

_"Not Harry! Please…have mercy…have mercy…."_

_"You stand, Harry Potter, upon the remains of my late father. A Muggle and a fool…very like your dear mother." _

_"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" _

_"Bow to death, Harry." _

_"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—"_

_"Stand aside! I will kill him! He is mine!"_

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

" Stand aside you silly girl…stand aside, now…."

_"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead—"_

Harry awoke early morning, sweating, as his hatred at Voldemort grew when he remembered his parents' pitiful pleas and Voldemort's merciless stature the night of their death. Remnants of Voldemort's conversation the night of the Triwizard tournament also crept into Harry's subconscious. After that, Harry refused to return to sleep. His dreams were as merciless as his consciousness that continually gave him grief in some form or another. 

Harry remained quiet for the rest of the week. He only responded when he was spoken too, and continued to eat very little during meals. This did not go unnoticed by the rest of the family, and numerous attempts had been made to try and brighten Harry's spirits, but nothing they did seemed to reach him. Even Lightning began to become less enthusiastic about things such as eating. Dark shadows began to appear under his eyes, reflecting the relentless nightmares that haunted his dreams all of which were placed in his pensieve the next morning. 

About a week before school was to start, the Weasleys' (with the exception of Fred and George) received their Hogwarts letters and the results of their O.W.L.S. Hermione ripped open her letter, throwing the school supplies parchment to the floor as she skimmed the results of her O.W.L.S. Hermione scanned the list until she reached one topic where her eyes seemed to burn a hole into the paper. 

"No, that's not fair!" Hermione exclaimed. 

"What?" Ron asked, not as eager to open his letter as Hermione. 

"I got an 'E' in Astronomy!" Hermione said outraged. "They should have curved the grade down! After all, the _whole _class was distracted by what that oaf Umbridge was doing to Hagrid and Professor McGonagall!"

Ron gave Harry a knowing look. "And how many O.W.L.S. did you get total, Hermione?" 

"Nine, but that's not the point. It's the injustice of giving every student a lower grade then they deserve because they were distracted during their exam!" Hermione argued.

Ron's mouth dropped open. "You passed all of your other exams and your complaining about one little 'E'?"

"I never said I didn't get any other 'E's' Ron Weasley," Hermione huffed.

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Well did you?" 

"No," Hermione relented. "But I told you, that's not the _point_. It's the _injustice_ of the thing."

"Right," Ron said as he began to open his letter. His face was not as excited by his results.

"Your O.W.L.S. are wonderful, Hermione! How many O.W.L.S. did you get, Ron?" Mrs. Weasley asked after hearing the conversation between Ron and Hermione. 

"Five," he whispered, not really knowing how is mother would react. 

Mrs. Weasley smiled. "That's great, Ron!" Mrs. Weasley enthused. 

"More than we thought you were going to get," Fred said. 

"I would be careful what you say, Frederick Weasley," Mrs. Weasley threatened. "He impressed me on his O.W.L.S. more than you two did."

George shrugged. "As we said, Mum, academics had little to do with our planned career. I think we did good in the subjects we needed to succeed."

"What were yours in, Ron?" Hermione asked. Ron knew that she was just trying to prove a point about Astronomy, but he told her anyway. 

"I got an "O" in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. And 'E's' in Charms, Herbology, and Transfiguration," Ron said. 

"And Astronomy?" Hermione asked. 

"I got an 'A'."

"See that could have been an 'E' if our testing had gone without interruption," Hermione said in triumph. "What about you Harry? What did you get O.W.L.S. in?"

Harry opened up his paper and read the top of his paper before proceeding to his scores. 

**_Dear Mr. Potter,_**

**_We are pleased to inform you that we have the results to your fifth year O.W.L.S. at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We apologize for the delay in sending you these results but actions beyond our control of caused a slight setback in our normal grading process. We are delighted to inform you that you have received 'O's' and 'E's' on the following six subjects that will qualify you to test for your N.E.W.T.S. in your seventh year. Below are the grades you obtained in your remaining subjects. Congratulations!_**

**_Sincerely,_**

**_Gretchen Portwallow_**

**DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL TESTING**

**Ministry of Magic**

Harry smiled bitterly knowing that the "actions beyond our control" had to be the rise of Voldemort. His eyes continued past the paragraph and down to his scores. The "O's" he got were in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Care of Magical Creatures. To his surprise, his "E's" were in Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Potions. If only Snape could see his grades. He would absolutely flip. 

Harry looked up and saw everyone waiting expectantly. Harry told them his results and Mrs. Weasley beamed proudly as if Harry was her own son. "That's excellent, Harry!"

"And what did you get in Astronomy?" Hermione asked. 

Harry looked at the grade nonchalantly. "A 'P'." Hermione smiled knowing that she had proved her point. Harry's Divination grade was a "P" as well, but his History grade remained a surprising "A." 

"This is a just cause for celebration, I think!" Mrs. Weasley said. 

"How does a spending spree at Diagon Alley sound?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Everyone cheered in agreement. 

Harry cheered along with them, but would of opted out had he another way of obtaining his textbooks. He wasn't in a celebrating mood. He was happy with his O.W.L.S but his sadness over his titled dreams was not succumbed. He'd rather just curl up with his new Quidditch book and flip through the pictures, for he found it impossible to concentrate on the words written below the featured photographs.

Ginny and Hermione ran upstairs to change while the boys and Mrs. Weasley waited impatiently by the fireplace. Once they were ready, they used Floo powder to travel to Diagon Alley. After quick school shopping they all headed to Fred and George's joke shop where they allowed their friends to pick up a few of their new products. 

As the sun began to disappear behind the clouds, the Weasleys' decided it was time to head back to the Burrow. They arrived home in a blink of an eye, surprised to find Mr. Weasley pacing anxiously by the fireplace. 

"Arthur? What's wrong?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Mr. Weasley glanced at Harry and the others and sighed.

"You're all going to find out anyway, I suppose. The reports are in, Molly. The giants have left the mountains." Mrs. Weasley gasped.

Harry looked back and forth between the two. He knew of course, that this was bad, but he didn't know how bad. "What does this mean?" Harry asked. 

"It means," Mr. Weasley said tiredly, "that You-Know-Who has regained all of his former assets and is finally setting them all in motion. Everyone knows giants don't like Wizards much but under You-Know-Who, they're able to relinquish their anger in the most destructive ways possible."

"Is the Order doing anything?" Molly asked fearfully.

"Yes," Mr. Weasley answered. "There's a meeting tonight to inform the other members fully of the situation. I-I just wanted to come home and tell you the details and also that I'll be working overtime." Molly looked at Arthur tearfully.

"I understand." Molly gave him one last long look before she turned to her children and guests. "Let us get to bed, shall we?" Before Mrs. Weasley wiped her face to its normal motherly expression, Harry notice the same pained and fearful look in her eyes that he had seen the night she had tried to get rid of the Boggart. That was the first time he'd ever seen Mrs. Weasley cry or show fear. It was the night that the bodies of her loved ones lay dead on the floor. Harry shuddered and erased those thoughts. The second battle truly had begun. 

* * *

"Where are they? They're late! We'll never make the train on time if they don't get here soon!" Mrs. Weasley said looking at the time on her magical watch. All evidence of worry from Mr. Weasley's telling of the giants was gone. Mr. Weasley had stopped at home for a few dinners since then, but they were always quick visits that often resulted in Mr. Weasley grabbing a plate full of dinner and leaving. 

Now, they were waiting for the appearance of the Advance Guard to escort them to Platform 9 ¾. It was already ten-thirty and no one had shown up. Almost after the words had left Mrs. Weasley's mouth however, there was a crack as Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody appeared in front of them. Mad-Eye Moody had his wand out. While his good eye covered the front, his magical eye covered the rear. 

"Hi, Harry!" Tonks greeted. Her hair was its tradition eccentric color but in green. She ran over to him with her beads clinging and clanging and took him in a hug. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine, thanks," Harry said gasping for breath. Lightning barked and then growled loudly from behind. Tonks released Harry in surprise.

"And this must be our new traveler," Tonks said going over to Lightning. Lightning looked at Harry briefly and then relaxed and allowed Tonks to pet him.

"Ah-hem," Moony growled. "We don't have time to dawdle." 

"Relax, Moody, we've got time," Tonks said. 

"We've already stayed in one place too long. With the new episode at the Ministry less Aurors were able to make it here than what is needed. If Death Eaters were to apparate in front of his, we'd be outnumbered!" Moody raved while everyone else listened in silence. 

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Alright, everyone into the car." Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron threw their things into the back and got into the car. 

"I'll take the air, Tonks, you have the car," Moody instructed as he snapped his fingers and a broom appeared. Tonks nodded and hopped into the driver's seat. 

"Bye everyone!" Fred called, waving from the front door. As soon as the car left, they would travel by Floo powder to Diagon Alley to open up their shop for the day.

"And remember to put our products to good use!" George called as Tonks started driving down the long dirt road. The car ride was bumpy, but Tonks kept a constant chatter with Hermione, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley the whole drive. Ron watched the scenery while Harry was stuck with the ever-nervous Lightning who was practically sitting in his lap. No matter how Lightning situated himself drool continued to darken Harry's blue jeans. Needless to say, Harry was less than enthused about the upcoming school year. 

Through out the drive, Moody kept them updated on their clearance above until they finally arrived at Kings Cross. Once there, unpacking their belongings and loading them onto carts became a hectic scene as time rushed on against them. They arrived onto platform 9 ¾ in record time. A few minutes later, their Hogwarts things had been loaded onto the train; all that was left were goodbyes.

"Study hard, Ginny! I want to see high scores on your O.W.L.S. too," Mrs. Weasley said giving her daughter a hug before shifting to Ron.

"Help your sister out, and for goodness sake, stay out of trouble!" Mrs. Weasley said as she kissed him on the cheek. Ron waited till she turned to Hermione before rubbing it off.

"Keep an eye on the boys," Mrs. Weasley said affectionately. "Oh, and if you would, help Ginny out where you can," she whispered. Hermione nodded and Mrs. Weasley moved onto Harry.

"Take care of yourself, Harry. Feel free to talk if you need to, and remember, Professor Lupin and Professor Dumbledore are there for you too." Mrs. Weasley said embracing Harry into a hug that was almost as tight as Tonk's. Lightning barked eagerly upon Mrs. Weasley release. Mrs. Weasley eyed him with authority. "And I best not be hearing any bad reports about you." Lightning wagged his tail harder in response.

"Come on now," Mrs. Weasley smiled. "You better get into your cabins, the train will be leaving soon."

"Bye Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny!" Tonks called waving at them.

"Constant vigilance!"     Moody called as the train began to pull away. 

"Oh no!" Tonks cried as she suddenly pulled a piece of parchment out of her pocket. "Harry, this is for you!" Tonks said running to keep up with the train. 

Harry pulled out his wand just as Tonks tripped over her own feet and fell. "_Accio, parchment!_" The paper flew out of Tonks hand and into Harry's just as the train pulled away from the station.


	8. Darkness Over the Horizon

A/N: Ah, reviews. It would be nice to write a story about reviews. Kind of contradicting right? Well that's how my mind wanders at midnight. Anyway, I got the next chapter, all I need is the next reviews. Oh, and they're not quite at Hogwarts yet, but they're practically there. It'll be in the next chapter, and that is a promise. And also, before anyone wonders, I'll explain about the whole teachers being on the Hogwarts Express next chapter. Continue to R/R, please!

Chapter 8

            Harry pocketed his wand and carried the folded parchment to their normal cabin where Ginny, Hermione, and Ron were already seated.

            "What's that, Harry?" Ron asked when he walked in.

            "I don't know. Tonks just gave it to me. She didn't say what it was about," Harry explained.

            "Well what are you waiting for? Open it!" Hermione encouraged. Harry unfolded it one layer at a time until he was greeted by the familiar scrawl that belonged to Remus Lupin.

            "It's from Lupin," Harry said. "It says:

_Dear Harry,_

_            I'm writing this letter with the hope that Tonks will be able to deliver it to you without interruption, both by Voldemort and for other reasons… Anyhow, I would like to apologize for not getting the chance to visit you again before your departure to Hogwarts, but because of actions that Arthur has already told me you know about, I haven't been able to take time off to see you. I just wanted to say once again,  not to blame yourself anymore for what happened to Sirius. Mrs. Weasley has already updated me on your latest health and you know Sirius wouldn't want you to hurt yourself for him. I'm sure you've heard these words many times, but you have shown admiral strength throughout your life and you shouldn't stop now. On a lighter note, Professor Dumbledore has told me that the newest teacher at Hogwarts is well trained in the field of Occlumacy and that you will be taking lessons from her instead of Professor Snape (which I'm sure you're extremely disappointed to hear.) Oh, Mrs. Weasley also had the courtesy of informing me how well you did on your O.W.L.S., Harry, and let me say, I'm very pleased. I also hope you will congratulate Hermione and Ron on their O.W.L.S. for me as well. Unfortunately Harry, I must be going, but if you ever want to talk to me, don't hesitate. Just remember to be prepared incase of interception. Good luck at Hogwarts this year, Harry, and I'll be in touch!_

_Your Friend,_

_Moony."_

            "Moony?" Came a voice from the doorway. "Who names a kid Moony?" Harry turned recognizing the snide voice instantly.

            "Beat it, Malfoy," Harry growled angry that he had been listening to Lupin's letter.

            "Touchy today aren't we, Potter? Wake up on the wrong side of the dirt floor?" Malfoy asked. "Assuming you stayed with the Weasleys' this summer, a spot on the floor in their shack must have been a relief." Crabbe and Goyle sniggered while Ron and Ginny stood up angrily with their wands raised.

            "What's going on in here?" Harry inwardly groaned. Professor Snape himself had appeared in the doorway behind Crabbe and Goyle. It was obvious to see that Snape's question had been asked with a look only awaiting Malfoy's response.

            "I was coming in her to tell Ron and Hermione about the Prefect meeting as Professor McGonagall had asked me too, when Potter threatened me and his cronies removed their wands," Malfoy said giving Harry a satisfied smile.

            "I see," Snape said, staring Harry down. "A week's detention for all of you."

            Harry's anger burned. "You can't do that! We didn't do ANY—" 

            "Quiet Potter, or I'll add another week," Snape snapped as Malfoy flashed another look of triumph. "Weasley, Granger, get into your robes and report to the meeting immediately. Your tardiness as it is, is unacceptable."

            "We weren't informed—" Ron started, but Snape's glare silenced him. 

            "Malfoy," Draco looked at him. "You've done your duty, you may report to the Prefect meeting now." Malfoy nodded and turned out of the room, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle. Snape left with a final glare at Harry.

            "IT'S NOT FAIR!" Ron shouted, throwing down his wand. "MALFOY AND SNAPE WILL GO TO ANY LENGTHS TO HUMILIATE US!"

            "And you're just now realizing this?" Hermione asked aggravatingly. 

            "We weren't even informed about a Prefect meeting!" Ron cried.

            "Apparently it's a last minute thing, but I highly doubt Professor McGonagall would ask Malfoy of all people to spread the word," Hermione said.

            "He lied," Harry said angrily. 

            "Of course he did!" Ginny spoke up. "You wouldn't expect anything less from the son of a Death Eater."

            "I'm going to ask Professor McGonagall about it. Come on, Ron, if there really is a meeting, we better hop to it," Hermione said.

            Ron however looked at Hermione horrified. "You know I want to see Malfoy and Snape get their come-up-ins, but if Malfoy lied and Snape finds out that you told McGonagall…Well, let's just say that I'd want to move out of London." 

            "He won't find out," Hermione said with assurance. "Now come on!" She grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him out the door. There were a few minutes of silence before either Ginny or Harry said anything.

            "It's really getting dark outside," Ginny commented from her seat by the window. Harry glanced up at her and then out the window. 

            "You're right, it is," Harry said, wearily taking a seat.

            Ginny looked at him carefully. "Wanna talk about it?"

            Harry gave her a small smile and shook his head. The room fell silent once again. Wind began to howl outside the train as raindrops hit the windows in an unrelenting fury. Over the wind and the rain, Harry some how managed to make out Ginny's sudden gasp.

            Harry looked at her. "Ginny what—?" Ginny was staring outside the darkening window, but Harry managed to catch sight of something green high up in the sky. 

            He ran over to the window to get a closer look as screams erupted throughout the train. The Dark Mark was blazing brightly. The snake protruding out of the skull's mouth seemed to be hissing right at the train. 

            Cries of fear continued to erupt throughout the train. Harry actually expected the Dark Mark to disappear as the train continued to move forward, but in actuality it was slowing. A few minutes later, the Hogwarts Express had come to a complete stop. Then, with a click, the lights on the train flickered and went out. The Dark Mark's brightness reflected an eerie green color into the passenger windows before Harry found his wand and whispered, "_Lumos!_"

            "Everyone alright in here?" Harry turned to the doorway where Professor McGonagall was standing, fashioned in her normal green robes. Her wand too, was lit and brandishing light into the room.

            "Yes, everything is fine, Professor," Harry said. Professor McGonagall gave an anxious nod and then headed down to the next cabin. Harry glanced at Ginny whose face was still staring at the Dark Mark in fear.

            "Everyone! Can I have your attention please?" Harry and Ginny ran to the doorway and looked down the hall. Harry could barely make out Kingsley's face through the flickering fire burning on the tip of his wand, but it was definitely him. Wizards with lit wands flanked him on either side. On the left was Mad-Eye Moody, on the right was Remus Lupin himself.

            "Please remain calm! I'm going to ask that all students and teachers remain in their cabin! And please try not to use your wands until you've been cleared, thank you!" The three wizards instantly broke apart and filed down the hallway. Kingsley headed towards the back of the train, Moody took the front, and Lupin took the middle. 

            "Professor Lupin!" Harry called the moment Lupin walked in front of his door.

            "Harry!" he greeted. "Ginny!

            "Professor, what's going on?" Harry asked.

            Lupin instantly turned serious. "Someone conjured the Dark Mark. As soon as the Order got word, we had the train stopped."

            "You think that someone on the train configured the Mark?" Ginny questioned.

            Lupin exhaled. "It is unlikely that a student or a teacher conjured the Mark, but this time around, we're being thorough. I know this is silly, but I'm required to ask for both your wands."

            Harry and Ginny both obligingly reached for their wands and handed them to Lupin. Lupin blew out Harry's flame and held his wand to Harry's tip. "_Thrice Prior Incantato!_" Harry had seen the prior incantation spell only done once before, and that was during the Quidditch World Cup after finding Winky with his wand. This time, instead of having one faint image appear from the wand's tip, there were three. First was a resemblance of fire, second were the words "Accio parchment," and third was the word "Stupefy," which was the last spell Harry had performed in his battle against Bellatrix Lestrange. 

            Professor Lupin handed Harry's wand back to him and performed the same spell with Ginny's wand. A stunning spell came out twice followed by a disarming charm. Lupin handed Ginny her wand back as well and then stood up to leave.

            "You got my letter, Harry?" Lupin asked. 

            "Yes," Harry said and grinned. "Tonks almost forget to give it to me."

            Lupin smiled. "That's Tonks for you." They stood there looking at each other for a moment. "I meant every word I said," Lupin finally said.

            "Thanks," Harry responded.

            "Now, I've got other wands to check. Take care Harry, Ginny." With that, Lupin had left the room, heading down to the next cabin. 

            Harry and Ginny were about to return to their seats when shouting voices made their way down the hall. Harry instantly recognized one of them as Hermione. Harry took off down the hall, and stopped in the fifth room on the right. Fire from several wands lit up the room. Tears in Hermione's eyes reflected off the fluttering flames. A wispy reminiscent of the Dark Mark hovered inches from Hermione's wand that was currently in Moody's hand.

            "I didn't conjure the Dark Mark!" Hermione was protesting. "I don't even know how!"

            Mad-Eye glared at Hermione but didn't say anything. "Everyone out of this room, now!" he growled. The remaining prefects nervously exited, filling into the hallway. "Except Weasley. You can enter, Potter." Harry walked in and sat next to Ron and across from Hermione.

            Moody hobbled over to the hallway. "Remus! Get down here!" Moody came back into the room and waited for Lupin. The moment he entered, he took a look at the occupants and frowned, confused.

            "What's going on, Moody?" Remus asked. In response Moody tapped Hermione's wand once again as the same foggy form of the Dark Mark appeared out of the tip of her wand.

            Remus looked at Hermione in surprise. "Hermione, can you explain this?" Remus asked. Hermione shook her head tearfully.

            "I was with Ron the whole time! He can tell you!" 

            "Remus, get Amos Diggory and Arthur Weasley down here," Moody ordered. Remus gave Moody an odd look but with a crack, he Disapparated. Neither Harry nor Ron understood why Moody had requested Amos Diggory or Arthur Weasley's presence, but he supposed they were about to find out.

            Very little time passed before Remus returned with the two confused men. "What's going on? Remus didn't have time to explain. Ron?" Mr. Weasley said after noticing his son. Moody, however, ignored Mr. Weasley and turned to Diggory.

            "Were these three the ones who heard the incantation of the Dark Mark the night of the Quidditch World Cup?" Moody asked Diggory.

            Diggory looked at the three of them, and his eyes rested on Harry. "Yes, yes they were." 

            "Moody, you can't be serious," Arthur said in disbelief. "We already proved that the formation of the Mark was done by none other than Barty Crouch's son."

            "True," Moody growled. "But I've just proved that all three of them heard the incantation, and found that Granger's wand did produce the Dark Mark this evening." Diggory's eyes reared around to face Hermione.

            "Explain yourself, girl! Why have you concocted the Mark of the Dark Lord?" Diggory asked with the same harshness he had shown Winky.

            "I-I didn't. I swear," Hermione whimpered.

            "That's enough, Diggory—" Arthur tried to intervene.

            "Who can vouch for that? Who can say you didn't do it to have a little fun? Stir up the neighborhood now that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back." Diggory fired the questions and accusations at Hermione one wave after another.

            "Diggory, now really—" Lupin said breaking in.

            "I can," Ron spoke loudly through the arguing voices.

            "You can what?" Diggory asked as all eyes turned to Ron.

            "I was with Hermione the whole time. She never once took out her wand to conjure the mark," Ron said speaking with confidence.

            No one said a word. Finally Lupin turned her. "Hermione, did you ever once notice that your wand was missing?" Lupin asked kindly.

            Hermione shook her head. "I've had it with me this whole time."

            "She's lying!" Diggory burst out. "And that boy is just covering up for her. He was probably in the whole thing too—"

            "MY SON IS AS HONEST AS-AS YOU OR ME, DIGGORY!" Arthur Weasley raged. "AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR THESE ALLIGATIONS AGAINST HIM OR HERMIONE GRANGER!"

            Hermione seemed to gain confidence at Mr. Weasley's words for she stood up and faced Amos Diggory himself. "I've worked hard, along with my friends, Ron and Harry, Mr. Diggory, to stop Voldemort's reign of terror. I, in no way shape or form, plan to encourage fear now that Voldemort has returned. Now, was I at the World Cup? Yes. Did I hear the incantation of the Dark Mark? Yes. Do I remember it? No. Would I conjure it? No. Would I knowingly allow someone to conjure it with my wand? No. I'm telling you, Mr. Diggory, that I did not form that Mark tonight and I don't know why it appears that I have." Hermione left her speech at that and sat down.

            Amos Diggory continued to stare at her, but now it was with horror. "She said his name!" Diggory cried, as if forgetting everything Hermione had just said. "That proves it."

            "It proves nothing, Amos," Arthur said. "Death Eaters don't even speak his name."

            For once, Diggory didn't have a response. "I think it's time for us to return to the Ministry and let these kids get to school. They've been delayed an hour already," Lupin commented. 

            "But the Mark—" Diggory gestured.

            "Was apparently conjured by Mrs. Granger's wand, but there is nothing we can do to prove that the spell was performed by the wand's owner," Lupin said calmly. 

            Diggory looked like he was going to burst out in anger once again, but instead he Disapparated with a crack. 

Moody eyed Hermione with suspicion. "Keep on your guard, you three," he grumbled. "Constant vigilance!" with that, he too Disapparated. 

"Be good," Arthur Weasley said distractedly. "And don't worry about tonight. We'll get to the bottom of this." _Crack!_ Mr. Weasley disappeared.

"I guess this is good-bye again, Harry," Lupin said nodding towards him. "Good-bye, Ron." Lupin turned to Hermione and opened his arms. Hermione stood up and took him in a hug. "Don't let this get to you, Hermione. Arthur is right, we'll do our best to figure out what happened." Lupin released her and made his way to the door and down the hall to find Kingsley.

A few minutes later the lights flickered on and the Dark Mark became a shadow behind them. The Hogwarts Express was finally on its way to school.


End file.
